Use these as they are. Then read the last section, because the entire problem is that the request is being made at the wrong time.
1. Standard request (before first payment)
Hi {{name}},
Before we can issue payment for {{work/invoice reference}}, we need a completed W-9 on file.
It takes about two minutes, the form is here: {{link to blank W-9}}, and you can send the completed copy back here: {{upload link}}.
This is standard for all vendors and lets us report correctly at year end. Payment will be processed within {{n}} days of receiving it.
Thanks, {{your name}} {{business name}}
2. Reminder
Hi {{name}},
Following up on the W-9 for {{business name}}. Your payment of {{amount}} is ready to go but we can't release it until the form is on file.
Blank form: {{link}} · Send it back here: {{upload link}}
If you've already sent it, let me know and I'll track it down at this end.
Thanks, {{your name}}
3. Year-end request (the one you want to stop sending)
Hi {{name}},
We paid {{business name}} {{amount}} during {{year}}, which means we need to issue you a 1099. To do that we need a completed W-9 on file, and we don't currently have one.
Blank form: {{link}} · Send it back here: {{upload link}}
We need this by {{date}} to meet the filing deadline. If we can't get it, we're required to report using the information we hold, which may not be correct, so it's worth two minutes of your time.
If your business details have changed since we worked together, the W-9 is where to tell us.
Thanks, {{your name}}
4. Vendor who has gone silent
Hi {{name}},
I've contacted you on {{date}} and {{date}} about the W-9 needed for {{year}} 1099 reporting and haven't had a response.
We're required to file by {{date}}. Without a completed W-9 we'll file using the details we have on record, which may result in an incorrect filing under your name, and correcting one afterwards is considerably more work than completing the form.
Blank form: {{link}} · Send it back here: {{upload link}}
If there's a better contact for this, please forward it on.
{{your name}}
The fix, in one line: make the W-9 a condition of the first payment, not a year-end task. A vendor waiting on money answers within a day. The same vendor in January, nine months after the work ended, may not answer at all.
Building the process so January is quiet
- Add "W-9 received" as a required field before any new vendor is set up for payment.
- Request the W-9 with the first invoice, not after it.
- For construction and trades clients, collect the certificate of insurance at the same time, same conversation, same friction, half the chasing.
- Keep a running list of vendors approaching the reporting threshold and check W-9 status quarterly, not annually.
- Store W-9s in one place per client so year-end is a lookup rather than a search.
- Re-request when a vendor's details change, a stale W-9 causes the same filing problem as a missing one.
Which vendors need one
Broadly, any non-corporate vendor you pay above the reporting threshold for services in a year, contractors, freelancers, subcontractors, professionals, and landlords for rent. Corporations are generally exempt, with attorneys as a well-known exception. Thresholds and rules change, and edge cases are genuinely fiddly, so confirm the current position with the client's tax preparer rather than relying on last year's habit.
Practical rule most practices land on: collect a W-9 from every vendor you pay, regardless. Deciding at year-end who needed one is where the chasing comes from, and the cost of an unnecessary W-9 is zero.